Emperor Akihito (left), Empress Michiko (second from left) and other members of the Imperial family make their way to greet guests during the annual autumn garden party at the Akasaka Palace Imperial garden in Tokyo in 2014. | AFP-JIJI

Emperor Akihito's last Imperial garden party to be held in November

An Imperial garden party scheduled for Nov. 9 will be the last to be hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, a senior official said Thursday.

As the Emperor will be busy before his abdication on April 30, the biannual party will not be held in spring, the Imperial Household Agency’s Grand Steward Shinichiro Yamamoto told a news conference.

The Emperor’s eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, who will accede the throne May 1, will continue to host the garden parties, in which Imperial family members exchange greetings and mingle with around 2,000 invited guests including those from the worlds of popular culture, sports, academia and politics.

But Yamamoto said it would be difficult for the new Imperial couple to hold their first official garden party next fall at Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo as a series of important ceremonies and rituals related to the enthronement will take place around that time.

Instead, there will be a garden party for honored guests from foreign countries to celebrate the new Emperor’s accession. Yamamoto said a government committee in charge of planning the ceremonies will discuss the event in more detail.